Mangrove trees – valuable coastal ecosystems found in Florida and other warm climates – won’t survive sea-level rise by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t reduced, according to a Rutgers co-authored study in the journal Science. Mangrove forests store large amounts of carbon, help protect coastlines and provide habitat for fish and other species. Using sediment data from the last 10,000 years, an international team led by Macquarie University in Australia estimated the chances of mangrove survival based on rates of sea-level rise.

More than 1,000 bottlenose dolphins live in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon year-round. Although extensively studied, what they do at nighttime is still a mystery. Using satellite telemetry, scientists provide the first documentation that these dolphins have a larger range that encompasses more habitats than previously thought. They regularly leave the brackish waters of the estuarine system and, not only travel into the ocean, but swim substantial distances – up to 20 kilometers – up freshwater rivers, creeks, and canals.

University of Delaware professor Wei-Jun Cai teamed with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists, as well as professors and professionals from numerous research institutes, to conduct an in-depth study that looks at carbon dioxide uptake and ocean acidification in the coastal oceans of North America.

A recent study from the University of Washington explores the ways parasitism will respond to climate change, providing researchers new insights into disease transmission. The paper was published May 18 in Trends in Ecology and Evolution.

Research labs have shut down around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) from investigating critical problems in the ocean.

A new study by researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) found that New England’s historic lobster fishery may turn a higher profit by operating with less gear in the water and a shorter season.

Nine National University of Singapore researchers were part of a team that went on a five-week long voyage to the Pacific Ocean’s Clarion-Clipperton Zone to obtain baseline data on the biodiversity of abyssal polymetallic nodule fields.

A new study investigating the links between coastal communities and coral reefs in Kenya and Madagascar has found that access to education and markets can help mitigate acute vulnerabilities for communities struggling with poverty and reliant on ecosystems degraded by overfishing.

Scientists from the University of Bristol and the University of Zurich have shown that the Titanichthys – a giant armoured fish that lived in the seas and oceans of the late Devonian period 380-million-years ago – fed in a similar manner to modern day basking sharks.

Of the top five countries in the world most at risk to disasters, three are Pacific Island nations. Yet time and time again, Pacific Islanders exhibit marked abilities to quickly recover. Part of the reason may be due to strong social networks that help to distribute resources to those most in need, say marine scientists from the University of Hawaiʿi, National Geographic Society and WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) in a new study.

Historical observations collected off California since the 1950s suggest that anchovies thrive where the water is breathable — a combination of the oxygen levels in the water and the species’ oxygen needs, which are affected by temperature. Future projections suggest that the waters off Mexico and Southern California could be uninhabitable by 2100.

Aerial drone footage provides the first evidence of adult blacktip sharks using shallow waters as a refuge from a huge predator – the great hammerhead. Before this study, documentation of adult sharks swimming in shallower waters to avoid predation did not exist. Unmanned aerial vehicles enable scientists to unobtrusively observe behaviors in the wild, providing insight into seldom-seen predator-prey interactions. When it comes to sharks, this “hammerhead” time video proves you “can’t touch this.”

KINGSTON, R.I. – MAY 11, 2020 – The University of Rhode has announced the appointment of NASA scientist Paula S. Bontempi as dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography. An alumna of GSO and a biological oceanographer for more than 25 years, Bontempi joins URI from the Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate of NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.

Florida State University and partner universities investigated current baseline conditions in the southern Gulf of Mexico to create a series of maps and guides that detail the distribution of carbon, nitrogen and the carbon-14 isotope.

GCOOS and NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) are funding two new studies designed to uncover the full costs of harmful algal blooms (HABs) across numerous sectors — from tourism and seafood to industries where impacts are less visible, such as healthcare and construction.

CU Boulder researchers have developed a method that could enable scientists to accurately forecast ocean acidity up to five years in advance. This would enable fisheries and communities that depend on seafood negatively affected by ocean acidification to adapt to changing conditions in real time, improving economic and food security in the next few decades.

Cornell scientists have developed a new technique for imaging a zebrafish’s brain at all stages of its development, which could have implications for the study of human brain disorders, including autism.

When threatened, the marine parchment tube worm secretes a sticky slime that emits a unique long-lasting blue light. New research into how the worm creates and sustains this light suggests that the process is self-powered.

Researchers, fisheries managers, conservationists, journalists and others can use FiCli to find scientific articles based on factors such as fish species, habitat type, location and type of climate change impact (such as a change in temperature or precipitation). Database: https://ficli.shinyapps.io/database/

Rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the consequent changes created through ocean acidification will cause severe ecosystem effects, impacting reef-forming habitats and the associated fish, according to new research.

To address plastic pollution plaguing the world’s seas and waterways, Cornell University chemists have developed a new polymer that can degrade by ultraviolet radiation, according to research published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

In a review paper published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, WHOI marine geochemists Elizabeth Kujawinski and Christopher Reddy review what they— and their science colleagues from around the world—have learned from studying the spill over the past decade.

Researchers have 3D printed coral-inspired structures that are capable of growing dense populations of microscopic algae. The work could lead to the development of compact, more efficient bioreactors for producing algae-based biofuels, as well as new techniques to repair and restore coral reefs.

The coral-eating crown of thorns starfish that devastate tropical reefs can lie in wait as harmless young herbivores for more than six years while coral populations recover from previous attacks or coral bleaching, new research has shown.

Scientists have developed a new minimally invasive technique that greatly enhances the ability to measure neonate turtle sex ratios. This is the first time that differences in sex-specific protein expression patterns have been identified in blood samples of hatchlings with temperature-dependent sex determination. The technique is a crucial step in assessing the impact of climate change on imperiled turtle species and will enable more accurate estimates of hatchling sex ratios at a population level and on a global scale.

Scientists have long known that the ocean plays an essential role in capturing carbon from the atmosphere, but a new study from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) shows that the efficiency of the ocean’s “biological carbon pump” has been drastically underestimated, with implications for future climate assessments.

Nuclear bomb tests during the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s have helped scientists accurately estimate the age of whale sharks, the biggest fish in the seas, according to a Rutgers-led study. It’s the first time the age of this majestic species has been verified. One whale shark was an estimated 50 years old when it died, making it the oldest known of its kind. Another shark was an estimated 35 years old.

Newly discovered single-celled creatures living deep beneath the seafloor have given researchers clues about how they might find life on Mars. These bacteria were discovered living in tiny cracks inside volcanic rocks after researchers persisted over a decade of trial and error to find a new way to examine the rocks.

Eastern oysters and three species of clams can be farmed together and flourish, potentially boosting profits of shellfish growers, according to a Rutgers University–New Brunswick study. Though diverse groups of species often outperform single-species groups, most bivalve farms in the United States and around the world grow their crops as monocultures, notes the study in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series.

An international study recently published in the journal Nature that was led by KAUST Professors Carlos Duarte and Susana Agustí lays out the essential roadmap of actions required for the planet's marine life to recover to full abundance by 2050.

Beach closures and other COVID-19 pandemic restrictions required scientists to get creative. They teamed up with the U.S. Coast Guard to make sure that three baby green sea turtles made it home. The turtles were outfitted with small solar powered satellite transmitters. Data will provide information to help scientists preserve sea turtles’ habitats and give them a hint about the effects of warmer temperatures on their offshore behavior.

185 scientists won part of the European Research Council’s (ERC) €450 million for Europe’s long-term frontier research, one of which was Professor David Scanlan, from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick.